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"They grew old and became lame, they shall be dishonored and put to shame," Symmachus said. And the outcome bears witness to the prophecy; for they are full of dishonor, seen by all as abominable. 47. "The Lord lives, and blessed is my God; and may the God of my salvation be exalted." Having mentioned the contradiction of the Jews, he alludes to the passion, and the resurrection after the passion. And since the Jews are accustomed to call the crucified one dead, he himself cries out: "The Lord lives, and blessed is my God, and may the God of my salvation be exalted." And not only does he live, but he has also ascended into the heavens, and offers salvation to those who wish it. 48, 49. "The God who gives me vengeance; and who subdues peoples under me; my deliverer from my angry enemies. From those who rise up against me you will lift me up; and from the unjust man you will deliver me." He therefore who will do these things long afterwards, will also deliver me from those who unjustly war against me; and the people you have subdued to me, you will show to be obedient. 50. "For this reason I will confess to you among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing to your name." For through the nations that will be called a little later, in all the churches throughout the whole world, I will praise you. And it is possible to see the fulfillment of this prophecy; for in all cities, and villages, and fields, and remote places, and mountains, and hills, and on land, and on sea, and in the inhabited world, and in the uninhabited, the divine David praises God through pious mouths. 80.989 51. "Greatly magnifying the salvations of the king, and showing mercy to his anointed, to David and to his seed forever." For you, having anointed me as king, not only save me, but also make me conspicuous; and you will deem worthy of this providence not only me, but also my children; but also forever you will preserve the preeminence for my seed. But this, when understood in a Jewish manner, refutes the prophecy. For the lineage of David continued in kingship until the captivity; but after the return from there, only Zerubbabel ruled, and he left no heirs to the rule. If, therefore, the prophecy is true, as it is indeed true; for the spirit of truth revealed it; it remains to understand the seed of David, which has eternal preeminence, to be the Lord Christ, born of David according to the flesh, having an eternal kingdom and glory; and having this indeed before the ages, as creator and God; but having received it again as man, in the last of the days; wherefore also through the divine Ezekiel the God of all said: "I will give them David their king." And again: "And David the king in their midst." And he called him David, as one who sprang from the loins of David according to the flesh. This also the blessed Isaiah proclaims: "There shall be the root of Jesse, and he who rises to rule the nations, in him shall the nations hope." Having learned these things, the blessed Matthew thus began his evangelical writing: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM 18. 1. "For the end, a psalm of David." Three kinds of divine laws from the

we are taught by the blessed Paul. For he said that one was given to men without letters through creation and nature; "For his invisible things," he says, "from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made;" and again: "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves;" and that one was provided in letters through the great Moses; "For on account of transgressions," he says, "the law was added, ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." And he knows a third, established after these, that of grace; "For the law," he says, "of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death."

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"Ἐπαλαιώθησαν καὶ ἐχώλαναν, ἀτιμωθήσονται καὶ ἐντραπήσονται, ὁ Σύμμαχος εἴρηκε. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τῇ προῤῥήσει τὸ τέλος· πλήρεις γάρ εἰσιν ἀτιμίας, βδελυροὶ πᾶσιν ὁρώμενοι. μζʹ. "Ζῇ Κύριος, καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεός μου· καὶ ὑψωθήτω ὁ Θεὸς τῆς σωτηρίας μου." Μνημο νεύσας τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀντιλογίας, αἰνίττεται τὸ πάθος, καὶ τὴν μετὰ τὸ πάθος ἀνάστασιν. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ Ἰουδαῖοι εἰώθασι τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον νεκρὸν καλεῖν, αὐτὸς βοᾷ· "Ζῇ Κύριος, καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ ὑψωθήτω ὁ Θεὸς τῆς σωτηρίας μου." Καὶ οὐ μόνον ζῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνελήλυθε, καὶ τοῖς βουλομένοις παρέχει τὴν σωτηρίαν. μηʹ, μθʹ. "Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ διδοὺς ἐκδικήσεις ἐμοί· καὶ ὑποτάξας λαοὺς ὑπ' ἐμέ· ὁ ῥύστης μου ἐξ ἐχθρῶν μου ὀργίλων. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων ἐπ' ἐμὲ ὑψώσεις με· καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἀδίκου ῥύσῃ με." Ὁ ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐργασόμενος μακροῖς ὕστερον χρό νοις, ῥύσῃ κἀμὲ τῶν ἀδίκως με πολεμούντων· καὶ ὃν ὑπέταξάς μοι λαὸν, ἀποφανεῖς εὐπειθῆ. νʹ. "∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἔθνεσι. Κύ ριε, καὶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου ψαλῶ." ∆ιὰ γὰρ τῶν μι κρὸν ὕστερον κληθησομένων ἐθνῶν, ἐν ἁπάσαις σε ταῖς κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκκλησίαις ὑμνήσω. Ἔστι δὲ ταύτης τῆς προφητείας τὸ τέλος ἰδεῖν· ἐν ἁπάσαις γὰρ καὶ πόλεσι, καὶ κώμαις, καὶ ἀγροῖς, καὶ ἐσχατιαῖς, καὶ ὄρεσι, καὶ βουνοῖς, καὶ ἐν γῇ, καὶ ἐν θαλάττῃ, καὶ ἐν οἰκουμένῃ, καὶ ἐν ἀοικήτῳ, ὁ θεσπέσιος ∆αβὶδ δι' εὐσεβῶν στομάτων τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνεῖ. 80.989 ναʹ. "Μεγαλύνων τὰς σωτηρίας τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ποιῶν ἔλεος τῷ χριστῷ αὑτοῦ, τῷ ∆αβὶδ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ ἕως αἰῶνος." Σύ με γὰρ χρίσας εἰς βασιλέα, οὐ μόνον σώζεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ περί βλεπτον ἀποφαίνεις· ταύτης δὲ τῆς προνοίας οὐκ ἐμὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἀξιώσεις παῖδας· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕως αἰῶνος τῷ σπέρματί μου φυλάξεις τὴν περιφάνειαν. Τοῦτο δὲ Ἰουδαϊκῶς μὲν νοούμενον, τὴν προφητείαν ἐλέγχει. Μέχρι γὰρ τῆς αἰχμαλω σίας τοῦ ∆αβὶδ τὸ γένος εἰς βασιλείαν διήρκεσεν· μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐπάνοδον, μόνος Ζοροβάβελ ἡγεμονεύσας, τῆς ἡγεμονίας οὐ κατέλιπε κληρονό μους. Εἰ τοίνυν ἀληθὴς ἡ προφητεία, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀληθής· τὸ γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτὴν ἀπεκάλυψε πνεῦμα· λείπεται νοεῖν τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ ∆αβὶδ, τὸ αἰώνιον ἔχον τὴν περιφάνειαν, τὸν ἐκ ∆αβὶδ κατὰ σάρκα γεννηθέντα ∆εσπότην Χριστὸν, αἰώνιον ἔχοντα βασιλείαν καὶ δόξαν· καὶ ἔχοντα μὲν ταύτην πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, ὡς ποιητὴν καὶ Θεόν· εἰληφότα δὲ πάλιν ὡς ἄνθρωπον, ἐπὶ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν· διὸ δὴ καὶ διὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Ἰεζεκιὴλ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἔφη Θεός· "∆ώσω αὐτοῖς ∆αβὶδ τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῶν." Καὶ πάλιν· "Καὶ ∆αβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν." ∆αβὶδ δὲ αὐτὸν ὠνόμασεν, ὡς ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ὀσφύος κατὰ σάρκα βλαστήσαντα. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας βοᾷ· "Ἔσταιἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, καὶ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι." Ταῦτα μεμαθηκὼς ὁ μα κάριος Ματθαῖος, οὕτω τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς ἤρξατο συγγραφῆς· "Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ ∆αβίδ."

ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ ΙΗʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. αʹ. "Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ψαλμὸς τῷ ∆αβίδ." Τῶν θείων νόμων εἴδη τρία παρὰ τοῦ

μακαρίου διδα σκόμεθα Παύλου. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ δίχα γραμμάτων ἔφη διὰ τῆς κτίσεως καὶ τῆς φύσεως τοῖς ἀνθρώ ποις δεδόσθαι· "Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται·" καὶ πάλιν· "Ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη, τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα, φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιεῖ, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες, ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι νόμος·" τὸν δὲ διὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Μω σέως ἐν γράμμασι παρεσχῆσθαι· "Τῶν παραβά σεων γὰρ, φησὶ, χάριν ὁ νόμος προσετέθη, διαταγεὶς δι' ἀγγέλων ἐν χειρὶ μεσίτου. Οἶδε δὲ καὶ τρίτον μετὰ τούτους τεθέντα, τὸν τῆς χάριτος· "Ὁ γὰρ νόμος, φησὶ, τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἠλευθέρωσέ με ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου."